Universal Sets Up Yet Another ‘Scarface’

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The studio plans a new interpretation of the gangster story already made famous by Paul Muni and Al Pacino

Say hello to my little friend — again.

Universal Pictures is planing a new iteration of "Scarface," TheWrap has confirmed.

An individual close to the studio said that the new version of the movie is not a remake or a sequel to either the now-classic — and spectacularly violent — 1983 film starring Al Pacino and directed by Brian De Palma or the Howard Hawks' 1932 take on the gangster story.

Universal's former chairman, Marc Shmuger, is producing along with Martin Bregman, who produced the 1983 "Scarface."

The studio has been spending time with the ultra-violent film lately. In August, it held a limited release of the 1983 movie to help hype release of the Blu-ray version of the movie.

The 1983 "Scarface," in which Pacino plays a Cuban refugee who becomes a drug kingpin, has become iconic.

It'll be interesting to see how Universal negotiates the tricky business of bringing the story back — and what ethnicity the main character will be.

In 1932, he was the Italian Antonio "Tony" Comonte. In 1983 — three years after Cuban dictator Fidel Castro allowed some 100,000 prisoners and mental patients to leave the nation in what was known as the Mariel Boatlift — Comonte became Tony Montana.

Shmuger, who recently opened the production company Global Produce, did not return a message for comment Wednesday.

Deadline first reported the news.

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